Maxim 10: The best companies in the world are those that have outstanding frontline leadership.
When you’re blessed to lead an organization as successful as Texas Children’s has been, people often want to know the secret. They ask all the time, “How does Texas Children’s continue to do so well?” And the funny part is, it’s no secret at all. In fact, the reason for our success can be found right out front – or more specifically, on the frontline.
It’s good to have a visionary CEO and a strong leadership team. But if a company doesn’t have great frontline leaders, quite simply, that company is not going to be successful. Our frontline is the face of Texas Children’s – they are invaluable to our organization. They are the ones interacting with our patients, families, medical staff and the general public, often making the first and most lasting impression on everyone who comes into contact with Texas Children’s.
Martin Wortley in the Customer Care Contact Center (CCC) is an incredible example of an employee who keeps his focus on ensuring patients’ and families’ experiences with us are exceptional. Perhaps he draws from his own experience – he first came to Texas Children’s for treatment of kidney stones when he was 10 years old. Years later, he returned to Texas Children’s, working in several frontline roles that gave him the opportunity to interact with patients and families and understand their needs. These roles also helped him learn about various parts of the organization, making him a great resource to team members and patient families as they navigate our system.
Martin is now an Assistant Director in the CCC, and his primary focus is the same – making sure our frontline staff keeps families first. This is critical because, as a call center, the CCC is often the first interaction a parent has with Texas Children’s. Martin nurtures the relationships with his staff and providers, and he goes above and beyond to set an example for providing exceptional customer service to our patients and families. He consistently shows initiative and has a thoughtful approach to problem solving and communicating, which goes a long way to make sure families get access to the care their children need in the timeliest manner. Martin’s leadership and success is directly reflected in the warm, positive – and efficient – experiences families have with our CCC staff.
I am extremely proud to have frontline leaders like Martin on our one amazing team. Therein lies the “secret” to our success. We have a lot of awesome things going on at Texas Children’s – opening of the new Legacy Tower, expansion into Austin, Aa2 bond rating for 22 years straight, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the U.S., no. 11 on Forbes list of best employers for women … and the list goes on and on. How do we achieve success after success? The answer is right out front.
I’d like to hear from you … is there a great frontline leader in your area? How do they inspire you and your team to be one amazing team?
Take the leadership challenge, and score a spot at a Houston Texans event!
Over the past few weeks, Mark Wallace’s blog has been highlighting employees who demonstrate his Maxims of Leadership. Each blog post poses a leadership question that Texas Children’s employees may respond to in the comments section until October 19.
Afterward, the Corporate Communications team will randomly select 75 people from the comments to attend a private event with the Houston Texans, including a behind-the-scenes tour of NRG Stadium, an autograph session with two Houston Texans football players and photos with the Texans cheerleaders.